| Project: Get Out and Walk |
| RCAF | 439 | Canadair Sabre | 19112 | 8th July 1952 |
| Royal Canadian Air Force | 4 Wing Baden |
CF-104 Starfighter |
104738 |
13th August 1965 |
| Flt. Lt. E. A. "Al" Seitz | ||||
|
Al's First Ejection
I have found the page in his log book for July 8, 1952 when he had engine failure and left F86E 19112. The flameout occurred after an hour's flight. He records that he glided from 30,000 ft. to 20,000 ft. before ejecting. He landed in the North Sea (in the area called the Wash). His dinghy didn't inflate because the stopper was rusted! He spent 1:45 minutes in the North Sea (not as warm as the Mediterranean but at least not the high waves). This time he was picked up by a USN Albatross and returned to North Luffenham where he was based with 439 Squadron. He told me that his body temperature was beginning to drop. Both times he had reached the point of thinking that he wasn't going to be rescued and he said once accepting that he had an amazing sense of peace. I doubt that he told "the guys" this but I don't think he would mind me relating it. Al was single then. I met him after he returned to Canada in December 1953. I have the ejection handle that he pulled that day. In his log book he has placed a photo of the wreckage taken after the tide went out in the Wash. Al was editor of the Base newspaper at the time and I have quite a few photos from this period. Regards, Millie |
My husband, Al (E.A.) Seitz, ejected very shortly after take-off from Decci (Sardinia) on Friday, August 13, 1965. He was scheduled to return to 4 Wing after having had week long bombing practice at Decci. His aircraft landed in pieces on an island in the Mediterranean where a prison was located. Meanwhile Al had noticed an onshore wind and kept his parachute attached hoping to land on soil rather than in the water as had happened to him when he ejected from an F-86 Sabre! However the cord from himself to his dinghy was not strong enough to withstand the wind and it broke resulting in it going off with the parachute and Al landing in the Gulf of Assinara. In his Log Book he has recorded 15 flight time, 19 minutes parachute time and 30 minutes in the water. He was picked up by Sardinian fishermen who were heading in to port due to the strong winds. He was given artificial respiration on the boat and was hospitalized in Cagliari for a few days. Pneumonia was a possibility due to the salt water irritation in his lungs. He did suffer a hairline crack in his neck. "At the time of Al's 104 ejection I was back on the base at 4 Wing with our daughters, aged 5 and 7 then. The deputy Sqdn commander came to tell me that Al had bailed out and the dinghy had been sighted (they didn't know that Al wasn't in it!). It seemed like such a long time before there was any more word before I was informed that he was in the hospital at Cagliari. Eventually he returned with a neck brace on."
Millie Seitz
|
| 8th July 1952 |
 RCAF |
Sabre | 19112 | 439 | Engine quit over The Wash | Flg. Off. AI Seitz | NAA |
| 13th August 1965 |
 RCAF |
CF‑104 | 104738 | 4 Wing Baden | Engine failure during flight |
Flt. Lt. E. A. Seitz |
Lockheed C-2 |